>However, I don't feel I'm playing anything exactly as I'd like. I want to play much better, musically, and secure my technique, so it's more natural and fluid<

You might be being a bit hard on yourself, Lucy. I happened to look at you playing live and it looks very secure and at a high level : )

Thank you mcg. But it could be better!!

I am hard on myself, yes, but you have to be, if you want to get really good.

I do know what you mean, though. I suppose it's about details. I don't succeed at all those I'd like. It's not so much that they're incredibly important, in themselves, taken in isolation. I seem to be good enough to entertain an audience and receive a lot of positive feedback.

It's just that if I sorted out those little details, they would, as a whole, result in more than the sum of their parts. I think it would lift my playing up, as a whole, by quite some measure.

An interesting journey...

“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” Helen Keller

I am hard on myself, yes, but you have to be, if you want to get really good.

Fair point and the way you play shows that you have put the hard yards in. And I mean that as a compliment.

I had a week off guitar (for the first time in at least a year) over the NY and felt quite good for it. One does build up a bit of fatigue in the paws, back etc from daily practice. So my 2019 goal is basically not to overdo it, i.e. don't 'over-practice'. Relax the schedule a bit. Do I really need to practice particular pieces every other day? Twice a week is ok, better in fact. That piece that, that after a couple of months is still not secure.... well, it's time to drop it. Also, I have a couple of ensemble projects. I find they are less of a grind than solo guitar. Do more of them and perhaps a bit less solo.

Last edited by mcg on Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Get a decent setup for recording.
Get duet recorded with Jesús Morote.
Organise - have a set of drills that I can work through or pick from when time is limited.
Use segment practise more regularly for pieces.
Practise/learn Grade 6 pieces.
Participate in Sor Op60 and 35 threads.

"Music washes away the dust of every day life." Art Blakey

"If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, the critics know it. And if I don’t practice for three days, the public knows it." Louis Armstrong

My 2019 goal is to play a few really easy pieces correctly, and to get proficient at a few basic chords - and figure out some theory.

My immediate goal is to have my hands learn to cooperate - so that when my left hand is fingering an A on the 3rd string, my right hand isn't plucking the 2nd or 4th string - which is driving my brain crazy...

I had a week off guitar (for the first time in at least a year) over the NY and felt quite good for it. One does build up a bit of fatigue in the paws, back etc from daily practice. So my 2019 goal is basically not to overdo it, i.e. don't 'over-practice'. Relax the schedule a bit. Do I really need to practice particular pieces every other day? Twice a week is ok, better in fact. That piece that, that after a couple of months is still not secure.... well, it's time to drop it. Also, I have a couple of ensemble projects. I find they are less of a grind than solo guitar. Do more of them and perhaps a bit less solo.

You're absolutely right. Not over-practising is really important.

Did you know your brain continues to work, even when you're not playing? This explains the phenomenon of when you just can't get something right, only to pick your guitar up next time and find it falls into place.

Being overly self-critical can be an problem too. I know that many people are the opposite. They are not critical enough, only to get a shock when they finally record themselves. There's been lots of threads about this on here.

I think if you're going to be self-critical, you have keep it in proportion. Pick on a few things you can realistically solve in a relatively short time. Otherwise, it's possible to get demoralised. Learning the guitar is a long-term game.

“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” Helen Keller